Fascination
by BluDreamer
Summary: Simplicity is never possible in the tasks of Rukia and Ichigo. Even the most average of moments are filled with suspense and awe. Oneshot.


A/N: I'm having a little writer's block with Awakening. I still wanted to write. And I recently got hooked on the bleach series. This is the end result. My first Bleach fanfic, let me know what you think! Enjoy!

Oh, PS: I don't own Bleach, Bleach characters, etc.

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**Fascination**

She was staring at it. She circled it delicately, analyzing every inch of red-painted metal and finger-smudged glass, drawing the curious glances of a few nearby customers. She didn't notice. Her own gaze was focused solely on the knobs, screws, nuts and bolts of the contraption in front of her, as well as the multi-colored contents within. Her dark eyes twinkled with unadulterated fascination.

He was content to look on, silently, from a distance. Simple things he dismissed daily always amazed her. If he were the type to laugh, to give an honest display of emotions, he would have, out loud, hard, until he was hoarse. Instead, the laughter crept into his amber eyes and sparkled, the giggles trapped there shimmering in the harsh fluorescent lights of the store.

His father had asked him to pick up a few things on his way home. On the way in, Ichigo had had to drag her away from the automatic doors. Once she had discovered how they worked, she had paused in front of the sensor, watched the doors slide open, then darted away to watch them close. On her fifth attempt, mostly due to a perturbed-looking employee, he had grabbed the collar of Rukia's dress and pulled her inside the store.

He had towed her after him for a few steps, making sure she was a few feet from her latest discovery, before releasing her without a word or even a glance backward in her direction. That was when she had spotted it, and wandered away, instantly lost in a personal wonderland.

He had assumed she would follow, if a little begrudgingly, as he walked briskly down each aisle, tossing the requested groceries haphazardly into the blue plastic hand basket. It had only taken a few moments of uninterrupted silence for him to realize the raven haired shinigami was no longer behind him.

He had panicked, grimacing and racing to retrace his footsteps, running into and around other shoppers, searching rabidly for Rukia, the short mop of black hair, and the tiny, deceivingly frail-looking body.

That's when he had noticed her. Hovering innocently by the gumball machines. With a sigh of relief, he had begun to call out to her, to chide her for straying to far, to complain that they were in a hurry, to mask the fact that he had worried. But he closed his mouth, instead opting to casually watch the scene that began to play out before him.

A small boy approached the machine with a coin, placing it in the slot. He twisted the worn red knob, and a slightly misshapen green ball leapt into the boy's waiting palm. He popped the gumball into his mouth and skipped away, delighted.

Rukia's eyes grew large, and her jaw dropped a little. She pounced on the machine, fiddling with the knob, lifting the door to the dark pipe from which the gumballs emerged. She looked around for Ichigo, who hid efficiently behind a cereal display, then back to the gumball machine, quickly becoming distressed, and frowning at the globe full of colorful spheres.

Ichigo waltzed into one of the checkout lines, placing his items on the black conveyor belt, a little relieved that Rukia would not have the chance to discover that today.

"Could I get change in coins, please?"

After paying, he strode over to the distraught Rukia, still poking at the gumball machine. Wordlessly, he grabbed one hand, and placed the coin on her palm. He didn't connect with her stunned gaze, her deep azure eyes quivering a bit. He guided her hand to the coin slot.

"Put it in."

She obeyed, dropping the coin in. Without further instruction she twisted the knob. To the left.

"Wrong way." He sighed.

As she cranked the machine into action, Ichigo grabbed her other hand, placing it just below the hatch where the gumball would, momentarily, appear. He lifted the tiny metal door, and an orange ball rolled into her outstretched palm.

"Don't swallow." He warned, striding back out through the automatic doors.

"Hai." she answered, low and almost inaudibly, gazing with wonder at the orange sphere of chewy sugar in her hands, raising it up with two fingers, first to compare to Ichigo's hair, and then to eclipse the sun.

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So? Thoughts? Share them! 


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